A lifelong professional writer, my career began more than 30 years ago as a magazine editor in Philadelphia and New York City. At heart, I'm a storyteller and feature writer. I began writing personal histories after the publication of a successful book, "Bright Lights of the Second City: 50 Prominent Chicagoans on Living with Passion and Purpose." As a personal historian, I love nothing better than sitting down at someone's kitchen table to hear the ins and outs, the ups and downs of their personal journeys and their family's lives. There's great satisfaction in turning these biographical details into a living, breathing personal history — a one-of-kind book guaranteed to bring generations closer together. I also create digital scrapbook pages and use this skill to make my books visually interesting. Scrapbook pages are a beautiful way to enhance personal histories by integrating old family photos, keepsakes, and mementos.